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Data Science Associate in Science

Overview

Data Science Program Narrative

Northampton Community College’s Data Science program prepares students to transfer to a four-year institution and earn their bachelor’s degree in Data Science or Data (Business) Analytics. Students in the Data Science program will obtain skills in programming, data mining, data visualization, and statistical analyses. Students will also learn about the ethical implications of Data Science. The program ends with a culminating project involving real-life data or working with a local organization in a data analytics project.

Features

The core curriculum of the Data Science program focuses on developing the techniques required for data exploration, visualization, and analysis. The course offerings help students understand the essential components of the epicycle of Data Science, how visual representations are used in the analysis and interpretation of complex data, and how to choose statistical analyses to make data-driven decisions. If you plan to enroll in the Data Science program at Northampton with the intent to transfer, we encourage you to examine the transfer requirements of your intended school and to work with our academic advisors to ensure you take the right classes to transfer as easily as possible.

Program Requirements

While this program has no special admission requirements, students should be ready to enroll in MATH150 in order to progress through the data science course sequence. Any student lacking appropriate credentials for enrolling in MATH150 should acquire it during the summer session before their first semester, or during their first semester. DATS101 has a corequisite of MATH150, while other Data Science courses cannot be completed without successfully completing MATH150. In addition, students need to be ready to take MATH180 in the third semester; therefore, appropriate competency is required to enroll in MATH180.

Career Potential

The program qualifies you for immediate employment as an entry level data analyst laboratory aide or technician. Members of Northampton's Career Services and counseling staff, as well as instructors with the program, can assist you in meeting your employment and career goals.

Outcomes

Outcomes

Graduates will be able to:

  • Use technology to effectively organize and manage datasets for analytical projects.
  • Analyze very large data sets in the context of real-world problems.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of appropriate research methods and basic statistical techniques to collect and analyze data for decision-making. 
  • Communicate and Interpret data science analyses effectively to any audience: orally, visually, and in written format.
  • Critically evaluate ethical, privacy, and security challenges in data analytics.

Courses

Second Semester

MATH207Statistical Methods

3 credits

ENGL151REnglish II

3 credits

CISC114Introduction to Computer Science with Python

4 credits

PHIL202GEthics & Moral Problems

3 credits

General Education Elective (SIT or SSHB)

3 credits

Total Credit Hours:16

First Semester

COLS101College Success

1 credits

ENGL101English I

3 credits

COMM101Introduction to Communication

3 credits

MATH150Introductory Statistics

3 credits

DATS101Principles of Data Science

3 credits

CISC101Introduction to Information Technology

3 credits

Total Credit Hours:16

Fourth Semester

MATH202Discrete Math

3 credits

DATS250Data Science Capstone

4 credits

CISC270Database Systems

4 credits

General Education Elective (SIT or SSHB)

3 credits

Total Credit Hours:14

Third Semester

MATH180Calculus I

4 credits

DATS201Data Visualization

3 credits

CISC150Object-oriented Programming

4 credits

Science Elective (SCI)

4 credits

Total Credit Hours:15
  • One General Education Elective (SIT, SSHB) must be taken in a Writing Intensive (WI) section.
  • If the student is not MATH150 ready in the first semester may push back taking Data Science courses and require the student to take an extra semester or semesters.
  • PHIL202G must be completed as a Writing Intensive option.
  • For Science elective, it is in the best interest of the student to focus on higher level Science with a laboratory component.

Total Credit Hours: 61